HHUUtam Scrope 443 



fish occasionally sulking. The thing at length became 

 serious ; and, after a succession of the same tactics, 

 Duncan found himself at the Boat of Aberlour, seven 

 hours after he had hooked his fish, the said fish fast 

 under a stone, and himself completely tired. He had 

 some thoughts of breaking his tackle, and giving the 

 thing up ; but he finally hit upon an expedient to rest 

 himself, and at the same time to guard against the sur- 

 prise and consequence of a sudden movement of the 

 fish. He laid himself down comfortably on the bank, 

 the butt end of his rod in front, and most ingeniously 

 drew out part of his line which he held in his teeth. 

 ' If he rugs when I'm sleeping,' said he, ' I think I'll find 

 him noo ' ; and no doubt it is probable that he would. 

 Accordingly, after a comfortable nap of three or four 

 hours, Duncan was awoke by a most unceremonious tug 

 at his jaws. In a moment he was on his feet, his rod 

 well up, and the fish swattering down the stream. He 

 followed as best he could, and was beginning to think of 

 the rock at Craigellachie, when he found to his great 

 relief that he could 'get a pull on him.' He had now 

 comparatively easy work, and exactly twelve hours after 

 hooking him, he cleiked him at the head of Lord Fife's 

 water: he weighed fifty-four pounds, Dutch, and had 

 the tide lice upon him." 



Good sportsman as he was, William Scrope shows 

 a leaning towards illegitimate modes of sport which will 

 provoke a sigh of regret, if no stronger expression of 

 feeling, from the angler of to-day. Unlike John Younger, 

 who detested the practice of spearing or " leistering " 

 salmon by torchlight, Scrope regarded it as fine sport. 



